Drag reduction in dilute flowing gas‐solid suspensions

The effect of solids loading ratio, particle size, and gas Reynolds number on the pressure drop and flow characteristics of a dilute gas‐solid suspension in turbulent pipe flow has been studied experimentally in both vertical and horizontal test sections. Glass beads of 10 to 60μ diameter were used at air Reynolds numbers of 10,000 to 25,000 and solids loading ratios of up to 2.5 Drag reduction was observed in the vertical test section for all of the particles studied, with the 30μ particles yielding a maximum drag reduction of about 75% at a loading ratio of 1.5. In the horizontal test section, drag reduction was observed only with the smallest sized particles, indicating a gravity effect. An explanation of these results based on the particles interacting with the turbulent structure of the gas near the wall has been proposed.